“preserve and display the heritage of the Albion area”

The Gardner House was built around 1875 by an Albion hardware merchant, Augustus P. Gardner, who came to Michigan from New York in 1837 as a young man. He lived in this Victorian brick house until his death in 1905.
The Albion Historical Society purchased the Gardner House in May 1966 from the City of Albion, Library Board, and turned it into a museum. The Albion Historical Society received an award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History in 1969 for this Museum. In 1971, it was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.